Bold face type characters having recessed faces



K. RlHM Aug. 24, 1965 BOLD FACE TYPE CHARACTERS HAVING RECESSED FACESFiled Sept. 16, 1965 United States Patent 4 Claims. in. 197-36) Thepresent invention relates to types for a typewriter or similar machine:and especially for types with boldface type characters.

The term boldface type character is herein used to designate a typecharacter in which the impression produced by the type is notsubstantially in line form but makes an imprint of relatively wide area.

A clear and clean print is, however, not always obtainahle with suchboldface type characters, but the printed characters often have hazy orslightly blurred outlines giving the print an unequal appearance.

In addition the imprint of such type characters requires a relativelygreat force and the quality of the produced print will be influenced toa great amount by the force exerted by the imprint of the character.

An additional difficulty of such types is the proper alignment of thesame on the type bar, especially if the print produced has a slightlyblurred outline.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a type for atypewriter or the like with boldface type characters which produce animprint with a perfectly sharp outline.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a type ofthe character described which can be properly aligned on a type bar.

With these objects in view, the present invention includes in a type fora typewriter or similar machine with boldface type characters, a typebody having a top surface, a type character projecting from said topsurface of said type body and having a relatively wide front face andbeing formed at least at the outer outline of said front face with acontinuous upwardly extending projection. Preferably, the continuousprojection is formed along all edges of the front face of the typecharacter. The type may also include an additional projection projectingfrom the top surface of the type body adjacent the front end thereof forfacilitating adjustment of the type on a type bar. This projection mayextend transversely across the top surface of the type body adjacent thefront end thereof and it may be formed with a central notch.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specilicembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a type according to thepresent invention on an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 2 is a partly sectioned side view of the type shown to a furtherenlarged scale with the type shown during initial contact with thetypewriter ribbon before penetration :of the same by the edges of thetype.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 of thesame, it will be seen that the type of the present invention includes atype body 1 having a top surface 2 from which two boldface typecharacters 3 and 3a project.

'ice

The two characters 3 and 3a which are illustrated in FIG. 1 by way of anexample as a capital R and a small letter r are in the usual mannerlongitudinally spaced from each other and from the front end of the typebody 1. The type characters 3 and 3a each have a relatively wide frontface 4 and 4a respectively and are formed along the edges of the frontfaces thereof with continuous projections 5 and 5a respectively. Theseprojections 5 and 5a are of substantially triangular or wedge-shapedcross section as most clearly shown in FIG. 2.

Preferably, the type is also provided with a projection 6 ofsubstantially triangular cross section projecting from the top surfaceof the type body transversely across the same adjacent to the front endthereof and this projection 6 is preferably provided with a centralnotch 6a. Projection 6 and notch 6a serve to properly align the type ona type bar of known construction, not shown in the drawing.

The type according to the present invention will operate as follows:

During impact of the type 3 or 3a on the platen of the typewriter, asshown in FIG. 2, the typewriter ribbon 3 will be struck by the continuouprojections 5 or 5a and the typewriter ribbon 8 will thereby be sharplypressed along the outline defined by the respective projection againstthe paper 9 srndwiched between the typewriter ribbon 8 and the platen 7.

The height of the projections 5 and 5a is made so small that thecavities defined by the projections 5 and 5a and the front faces 4 and4a are respectively filled by a portion of the typewriter ribbon 8during the impact of the type character so that the total front surfaceof the respective character will be properly imprinted. Types of thepresent invention will therefore produce a perfect uniform sharplydelineated imprint of the respective characters so that the printproduced will have a perfect appearance.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other kinds oftypes differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in atype for a typewriter or similar machine with boldface type characters,it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, ince variousmodifications and structural changes may be made without departing inany way from the spirit of the present in vention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a typewriter, in combination, a cylindrical roller having apredetermined radius of curvature and adapted to support on its curvedouter face a typewriter paper; a typewriter ribbon having apredetermined thickness and adapted to be located superimposed upontypewriter paper located on said roller; and a type adapted to be placedadjacent the outer face of the typewriter ribbon and including a typebody having a top surface facing said typewriter ribbon but locatedspaced therefrom and a type character projecting from said top surfaceof the type body and having a Wide front face spaced from said tion andsaid front face together defining a cavity having a depth less than saidpredetermined thickness of said typewriter ribbon so as to betadapted tobe filled with a portion of said typewriter ribbon upon impact of saidcontinuous projection on said ribbon, whereby a proper imprint of anarea equal to that of the whole front face ofsaid type character isproduced on said typewriter paper.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein said front face andsaid continuous projection are located in parallel cylindrical surfaceportions of said type, each of said cylindrical surface portions havinga radius of curvature substantially identical with said predeterminedradius of curvature of said cylindrical roller, so that upon impact ofsaid continuous projection on said ribbon said portion of said ribbonwill uniformly fill said cavity defined by said continuous projectionand said front face,

7 whereby the imprint of the area equal to the front face of the typecharacter which is produced on the typewriter paper will be of uniformappearance.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said wide front face ofsaid type character is provided with a smooth surface and wherein saidcavity has a substantially uniform depth all along said smooth surface.

4. In a typewriter, in combination, a cylindrical roller having apredetermined radius of curvature and adapted 'to support on its curvedouter face a typewriter paper; a typewriter ribbon having apredetermined thickness and adapted to be located superimposed upon saidtypewriter paper located on said roller; and a type adapted 'tobe placedadjacent the outer face of the typewriter adapted to engage the same,said continuous projection and said front face of each of said typecharacters to-' gether defining a cavity having a depth less than thepredetermined thickness of said typewriter ribbon so as to be adapted tobe filled with a portion of said typewriter ribbon upon impact of saidcontinuous projection on said ribbon whereby a proper imprint of an areaequal to that of the whole front face of the respective type characteris produced onssaid typewriter paper, and a projection extendingtransversely across and upwardly from said top surface of said bodyadjacent the front end thereof and being formed with a central notch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 193,805 8/77Casilear 1Ol-398 'X 1,168,739 1/16 Pollock 10l398 1,586,088 5/26 JelloW101398 X 2,071,458 2/37 Ennis 101 398 X 7 OTHER REFERENCES Germanprinted application Serial Number 04345 XII-15g, printed August 16,1956.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A TYPEWRITER, IN COMBINATION, A CYLINDRICAL ROLLER HAVING APREDETERMINED RADIUS OF CURVATURE AND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT ON ITS CURVEDOUTER FACE A TYPEWRITER PAPER; A TYPEWRITER RIBBON HAVING APREDETERMINED THICKNESS AND ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED SUPERIMPOSED UPONTYPEWRITER PAPER LOCATED ON SAID ROLLER; AND A TYPE ADAPTED TO BE PLACEDADJACENT THE OUTER FACE OF THE TYPEWRITER RIBBON AND INCLUDING A TYPEBODY HAVING A TOP SURFACE FACING SAID TYPEWRITER RIBBON BUT LOCATEDSPACED THEREFROM AND A TYPE CHARACTER PROJECTING FROM SAID TOP SURFACEFROM SAID TYPE BODY AND HAVING A WIDE FRONT FACE SPACED FROM SAID TOPSURFACE AND FORMED AT LEAST ALONG THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID FRONT FACE WITHA CONTINUOUS PROJECTION PROJECTING AWAY FROM SAID TOP SURFACE TOWARDSAID TYPEWRITER RIB-